Tom Doak Hired to Design 4th Course At Sand Valley

What You Need to Know About Sedge Valley

By Brian Weis

More great news from Sand Valley, as the Keiser Family recently announced the construction for their fourth course at Sand Valley. Tom Doak was selected to build the course, dubbed "Sedge Valley".

Who is Tom Doak?
Tom Doak is owner and lead golf course architect at Renaissance Golf Design. Tom has designed and constructed dozens of courses around the globe. Currently, he has four golf courses ranked among the top 100 in the world according to the "Top 100 Courses in the World" list compiled by Golf Magazine. These courses include Pacific Dunes in Oregon, Ballyneal in Colorado, Barnbougle Dunes in Tasmania and Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand.

How will it be different than the other courses? (Sand Valley and Mammoth Dunes)
Many consider the land that Sedge Valley will be built on as some of the best golf course land on property. The course will be routed through a sedge savannah that has large sand blow outs over gentle rolling terrain. What makes the course truly unique is length and par. Doak's preliminary routing measures 6,100 yards with a par of 68. The Keisers and Doak are very excited to introduce American golfers to a type of golf course long known and loved throughout England. It will be an initial mind bender as the course doesn't conform to expectations of length or par.

Doak shared, "(It's) a concept I have wanted to pursue for years -- to build a great par-68 course for America like England has so many of. Courses like Swinley Forest, Rye, West Sussex, Cavendish, and St. Enodoc are some of my favorite places in golf, and it's a shame there is nothing like them over here." - Tom Doak

Expected Open Date
The planning has begun. The anticipation is for construction to begin in 2019. If everything goes according to plan there is a potential for a soft opening in 2021.

Where is it in relationship to the other courses?
Located to the east of the front 9 at Sand Valley.

Why a par 68?
Sedge Valley is unconventional with no concept of distance or par. The preliminary routing fits perfectly in the land available.

Doak elaborated, "Courses like Swinley Forest, Rye, West Sussex, Cavendish, and St. Enodoc are some of my favorite places in golf, and it's a shame there is nothing like them over here."

Until now Mr Doak...we all are excited to see your creation.

Revised: 09/25/2018 - Article Viewed 14,622 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the Publisher of GolfTrips.com, a network of golf travel and directory sites including GolfWisconsin.com, GolfMichigan.com, ArizonaGolfer.com, GolfAlabama.com, etc. Professionally, Brian is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA) and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG). In 2016, Brian won The Shaheen Cup, an award given to a golf travel writer by his peers.

All of his life, Brian has been around the game of golf. As a youngster, Brian competed at all levels in junior and high school golf. Brian had a zero chance for a college golf scholarship, so he worked on the grounds crew at West Bend Country Club to pay for his University of Wisconsin education. In his adult years, his passion for the game collided with his entrepreneurial spirit and in 2004 launched GolfWisconsin.com. In 2007, the idea for a network of local golf directory sites formed and GolfTrips.com was born. Today, the network consists of a site in all 50 states supported by national sites like GolfTrips.com, GolfGuide.com and GolfPackages.com. It is an understatement to say, Brian is passionate about promoting golf and golf travel on a local, regional, national and international level.

On the golf course, Brian is known as a fierce weekend warrior that fluctuates between a 5-9 handicap. With a soft fade, known as "The Weis Slice", and booming 300+ drives, he can blast it out of bounds with the best of them.